Renaissance of the Dragons
by EdgeMaster025
Summary: The first generation of children of Abel and Tiki are born. But they have to discover for themselves what it is to be a dragon, and to carry on the name of the once-proud divine-dragon clan. Sequel to Verdant Love.
1. Ch1: Crimson

A/N: Well, I did the first story here, and this is number two! This is a direct sequel to _Verdant Love_, my previous Fire Emblem fanfiction, though it takes place twelve years later. This story introduces an original character, so things get a bit hairy. First thing I want to make clear: This story will have less frequent updates than VL did. Not only because of increased school work load, but also because this story needs a lot more fine tuning than the previous one did. The first story only had characters that had already been created. Because this one introduces some new ones, I need to define their relationships with other characters better, and it'll take longer. Hopefully it will be worth it.

Also keep in mind, my writing style is pretty dynamic (read: half-assed). As of right now, I have no idea how I want the story to end. I prefer letting the story define itself. This story will literally write itself.

I don't own any characters in this story that appear in the game _Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon_. Any characters not mentioned in said game belong to me.

So let's get on with it. Chapter one begins… NOW.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Renaissance of the Dragons Chapter One: Crimson

Zuni was eight years old. He was also fairly confused. About a lot of things, really. One of his biggest questions was why his father was thirty-seven and his mother twenty. He knew basic math. Thirty-seven minus twenty was seventeen. His parents' ages were nearly as far apart as his mother was old. That fact alone unnerved him. Not only that, twenty minus eight told him his mother conceived him at the age of twelve.

Because of that, Zuni suspected foul play. Maybe his mother was a prisoner of war, and was taken as an unwilling concubine by his father for his depraved urges. There was a war four years prior to his birth that both his parents were involved in, as his father had said, so that checked out. It also explained why nobody else like them lived nearby.

Unable to contain his uncertainty any further, Zuni confronted his parents.

"Okay, you two," he began accusingly. "Things are not right. Father, why are you so much older than Mother? Why is she so young at all? Answer me, please!"

His father, Abel, chuckled. He responded simply (and almost cryptically), "Love knows no limitations, Zuni."

As if to prove him right, Zuni's mother, Tiki, kissed Abel on the cheek.

"Zuni," she said, "we… haven't told you everything about your past. We did it for a good reason, believe me, because it's a… a heavy burden to place. And we weren't sure you were old enough to carry it."

"Well I'm old enough now. So tell me everything!" he demanded.

Abel and Tiki looked at one another. They silently agreed to explain themselves with a nod.

While they do that, perhaps a physical description of Zuni would be useful.

For the most part, Zuni looked like his mother did when he was her age. His hair was crimson red, and short too. Though both his parents' hair colors were green, Zuni got his hair from his uncle, Abel's brother Cain. Tiki gave Zuni her dragon-god headdress to wear, because it was the last one left. No one alive knew how to make them. Abel had tried multiple times, but to no avail: he could never figure out the proper mixture of metals, and all his work fell to pieces quickly, almost mockingly.

Though he was, by biology, a divine-dragon, Zuni was not able to use a Divinestone, the key to transformation into a dragon form. The only one left was also Tiki's, but she was more reluctant to part with it than with the headdress. Without a Divinestone, the best Zuni, like his father, could do was grow white wings from his back. Abel did, however, give Zuni a spare Firestone, which turns a manakete into a red fire dragon form. Zuni generally refused to use it, though, saying it didn't feel "proper to use a lesser form" than he could otherwise.

He was trained in both dragon and human combat (he had to use the Firestone for the former, and was under the premise that the stone itself made the bearer a dragon, that it was pure magic), as well as equestrianism. Abel's horse, Adam, had taken a liking to Zuni, which was significant, because Adam rarely let a stranger ride him without a fight.

Over the last eight years of his life, Zuni had been introduced to most of Abel's former brothers- and sisters-in-arms. The lord of Altea himself, Marth, had given Zuni a small medallion as a gift, bearing a noble mark upon it. Marth's sister and current queen consort of Altea, Elice, had given him a stranger gift: a regular comb with a small amount of long, green hair trapped within the tines. When Zuni asked why they were there, all Elice said was to ask his mother someday. Elice tended to act like a mother to Zuni, and he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. Part of him enjoyed the love and attention, and the other part hated her for trying to replace Tiki, intentionally or not.

A red-haired woman who had identified herself as Minerva had given him a small axe, which was ornately designed, though with a definite killing intent in mind. Just the sight of it gave Zuni chills. Minerva said it was a replica of her ax, Hauteclere, which she had made so that he could carry it. She also said she used the original Hauteclere herself in the war, claiming she had defeated the "tyrannical dictator son of a— I mean arrogant king of Macedon". She also gave him her blessing as the current leader of Macedon. Zuni asked her why she took the throne from the arrogant ex-leader, and she said that she had made the people a compromise they couldn't refuse. She didn't go into much detail, Zuni had noted.

He had to admit, though, he liked Minerva. He wasn't sure why, though. Something about her appealed to him. _Maybe it's her take-no-nonsense attitude, or her fierce independent spirit. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was a dragon in disguise_, he had thought.

Back to the present. Abel concluded his explanation of the circumstances.

"So I'm the descendant of a nearly-extinct dragon clan? And you, father, used to be purely human?" He paused, trying to think. But life-changing epiphanies had a tendency to cloud one's thoughts. "I see. Well, then, where is she?"

Abel blinked. "She who?"

Zuni put his face in his palm in exasperation. "If I'm supposed to carry on our heritage, don't I need a… mate, mayhaps?"

Tiki laughed. "Of course! Your father… erm, planted the seed in my womanly soil a few nights ago, son!"

Zuni frowned. "Well, good, I'd hate to think my parents had forgotten the main reason they _had_ me."

"No, of course not," said Abel. "We just wanted you to acclimate to the situation at hand. With any luck it will be a girl. That way, later, you and she might mate. I'm sorry if it seems… forced upon you, but it's kind of a pressing matter."

Then Abel's voice changed. It became feminine. "Zuni, now that you have been made aware of your background, I feel it is time I reveal my presence."

Zuni was surprisingly calm with the change. "Who are you, then?" he asked.

"I am called Nagi. I met Abel twelve years ago. When he went from human to manakete, if you recall, the transformation killed him. His soul went to some inter-dimensional void, where we met. When he was revived, I was merged into his mind, and I quite enjoy living with Abel and Tiki. They are fun to be around, and having been isolated for who knows how long has made me cherish any sentient contact."

Zuni nodded. "I can see how that would be. I wish I knew what you looked like…"

Abel/Nagi pointed to Tiki. "A lot like your mother, actually. Because my physical body has long since perished, I no longer age."

Zuni extended a hand. "It is both a pleasure and an honor to meet you, Lady Nagi."

Nagi took Zuni's hand and pulled him into an embrace, wrapping Abel's body around him. Zuni felt a distinct motherly vibe from the embrace. He took a note of it.

"Nagi? Were you a mother at any point?" he asked.

Nagi hesitated. "I do not remember, but it is possible." She kissed Zuni on the forehead. "If you don't mind, I wish to consider myself a relative of yours, even though I'm not."

Zuni considered it. "I suppose I could consider you like a mother. You do seem to be good at it."

"Thank you…" Nagi thought for a second. "… my son." She returned control of Abel's body to him.

"I guess we're all a family," he said. "A strange family, but a family nonetheless."

Zuni reflected, as he did often, on Abel's words. His parents' ages differed greatly, his mother was exceedingly young, he had a mother-in-effect confined to his father's mind, and a once-human-turned-manakete father. For a minute, Zuni considered how a normal family was like…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: First chapter complete. Would you like to save? (Y/N)

Just kiddin'. So, the first chapter is done! And don't worry, the chapter title format will make sense later. Crimson obviously for Zuni's hair color.

Oh, and take note of Zuni's affinity for Minerva. It may come into play later.

So what'd you think for a sequel? Let me know, review~


	2. Ch2: Normal? Not in Altea

A/N: Well, I believe I'm ready to put up chapter two for you folks now. Oh, and I think it's good if I point out one thing (this was prompted by a review) that has happened in the eight years between stories: If you recall from the epilogue of Shadow Dragon, the Macedonians almost unanimously wanted Minerva to become queen, but she chose not to. Well, in the eight years since VL was finished, Minerva was pressured into taking the position of queen on the condition that she be allowed to come and go as she pleased and remain more or less unbound by the obligatory restrictions set on her, and also that she remain commander of the Whitewings separately. Bit of a power exertion, but she

It'll come up later, but I felt it would help to present that event now rather than wait until it's a huge surprise. Call it a preemptive measure, call it bad writing, I call it necessary.

Anyways, here we go.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Two: Normal? Not in Altea…

Even though the young heir of the Nara considered the topic of normalcy, oddly enough, no family in Altea was truly normal. Almost all Altean families had some strange secret or quirk about them. In fact, in the entire continent, most families had odd machinations about them.

Take the princess of Archanea herself, Princess Nyna. Her family, the royal family of Archanea, was to be executed in front of the people as a show of power. The commander of Grust's Sable Order, General Camus, rescued her from her execution and escorted her out of harm's way to Aurelis. Nyna had fallen in love with Camus. However, when next she saw him, in the Battle of the Sable in Grust, he refused to join Marth's army, preferring instead to remain a knight of his country. "What sort of knight," he had explained, "abandons his kingdom— his king!— now, when they need him the most?" Abel himself had, shortly afterwards, caught Camus off guard, slaying him and taking Gradivus, the regalia lance of Archanea, as his spoils.

Rumor had it that the man Abel had killed was not in fact Camus, but an impostor, one of Camus's knights, who, for his commander's sake had donned his armor and taken his lance in an effort to protect Camus. Of course, this was a rumor and was to be taken with a grain of salt as to its veracity. Princess Nyna dearly hoped this were true, but had already moved on. Her lover, it seemed, was not returning.

But that's neither here nor there. Alteans in particular seemed to suffer from strange and convoluted lives, especially when it came to romance. Abel and Tiki's marriage and family was a prime example, of course, and so was Lord Marth's. His parents, Cornelius and Liza, were both dead, murdered during the war, and, having no one else to turn to at the time, had chosen his older sister Elice to act as queen with him. Marth and Elice were not married, but, because Elice had more experience in Altean affairs than Lena of Macedon (Marth's wife), then Elice would act as the queen regnant with her younger brother. Lena remained privy to the dealings of her husband and sister-in-law, as did Elice's lover, Merric, but their political positions were closer to advisors than office.

As fellow mages, Merric and Lena shared a brotherly-sisterly bond. For the benefit of the reader, a summary of the strange family of House Altea: The blood brother and sister acted as if married (as king and queen), and their spouses acted as if brother and sister.

Confused yet? Don't worry, that's about as hairy as things get. For now anyway.

So when Zuni mused over how other, more "normal" families in Altea lived, one can realize that that is a self-defeating thought. Zuni had come to realize he had not met the entirety of Marth's family. He had only met Marth and Elice as yet. So he went to his parents to ask to visit. They agreed to take him. It would be an edifying experience. So they showed him the way to the castle, and entrusted him to find his way home (he was adept at navigation).

When Merric saw Zuni, he was immediately unnerved.

"Whoa," he yelped. "You're their kid??"

Zuni took offense at that. "I am. Were you expecting something else?"

Merric had already had a tangle with a dragon. It hadn't ended well for him. He had no intention of being killed a second time.

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" He took an involuntary several steps back, nonchalantly putting Elice between him and the rather imposing eight-year-old. "I meant your… eh… hair! Yes, your hair, why-why is it red?" Merric asked nervously.

Zuni felt like messing with this obviously frail individual. "Something about my hair displeases you, human?" he snarled in mock anger.

Merric yelped and hid behind Elice once again. She giggled.

"He's only playing, Merric," she said soothingly, as a mother would to her frightened child.

Merric peeked out from behind her. "H-h-he is?" Zuni was smiling innocently, though he made sure one fang showed in his grin.

"Yes, of course, Merric, I would never harm you," he said through his teeth. Merric whimpered.

"Oh, stop it, Merric," said Elice. "Go hug Zuni, he means you no harm."

Somehow, Merric was not convinced. Still, he slowly edged over to Zuni and knelt down to his level. Zuni hugged Merric and apologized for the scare.

Elice straightened up. "Okay, Zuni. Would you like to meet my sister-in-law, Lena?"

"Yes, please," said Zuni respectfully. Elice escorted Zuni to Lena's chambers, which she shared with Marth. Elice knocked.

"Lena?" she asked. No reply. "She must still be asl—"

Lena opened the door. Despite her marriage to the king of Altea, which obligated royal clothes, Lena still wore her sage robe she wore during the war. Something about it comforted her.

"Hello?" she said shyly. "What is it, Elice?" She looked down. "Oh, I didn't… see you there. Who are you?"

Zuni cleared his throat. "Zuni, son of Abel, of the Nara clan."

Lena smiled. "Oh! I didn't realize they'd… had a son. Pl-pleasure to meet you."

Zuni abruptly took Lena's hand in his. Lena yelped and tried to pull her hand away, but Zuni refused to let her.

"I can tell you're shy," he said soothingly, "but you've no reason to fear me. I know you want your hand back, but you cannot allow your fears to dominate you that way. If you allow them to do so, you will always be slave to your inhibitions. So now I ask you… do you still want your hand back after what I have said?"

Deep down, Lena felt comforted by Zuni's clear words and tone of voice. She stopped trying to pull her hand away, her arm relaxing completely. Those deep understanding eyes. To be in one so young as Zuni was almost chilling to Lena. He had his entire life ahead of him. Most people only became that perceptive in their later years, and by then have become so jaded to the atrocities of reality that they've forsaken others. But for the near-sacred perception of understanding in Zuni not to be tainted by the impurity of experience… It was comforting and startling at the same time.

Almost like letting a dragon hold your hand.

Lena swallowed, then said finally, "No. No I don't. Thank you, Zuni. I've had that problem my entire life, and you helped it in half a minute." She knelt so she was level with Zuni. "I see you doing great things in your life. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, or even in 40 years' time. But you will." She put her hands on Zuni's shoulders. "May Anri, hero and guardian of the country of Altea watch over you, and may peace live in your heart, Zuni, son of Abel. You have my blessing as Lena, daughter of none*." Lena leaned forward and kissed Zuni's forehead.

Zuni took this almost completely in stride. The speech, gestures, and blessing he didn't react to, but the kiss he did. He could tell it was not from affection. No, it was more of honor and respect. Somehow, he garnered a lot of that, a fact he prided himself on. It was a sin, he knew, to take excessive pride in something like that, but he couldn't help it. Everyone had their vice, the one sin they could not resist, and Zuni's was definitely pride.

His business in the castle done, Zuni bade farewell to Lena, Elice and Merric. He returned to his parents' shop fairly nearby, and went inside, but no one was manning the counter. He went behind and knocked in the bedroom door.

"Mother? Father?" he asked. "Is everything okay?"

Silence. Then…

"Come in, Zuni," came his mother's voice. Zuni opened the door and walked in, not expecting what to see. At the bed, his father, Abel, was sitting beside Tiki, his mother, who was lying down. But Tiki was holding two things in her arms.

Children things.

"Zuni," said Abel, "meet your sister and brother, Yuni and Zephyr."

"In that order," Tiki cheerfully added.

Zuni looked at the newborns. They seemed to stare back at him, with that innocent yet pervasive stare children had, the one that feels as if staring into your very soul.

"Yuni and Zephyr," said Zuni. "… pleased to meet you both."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

* Lena is a "daughter of none" because she does not know who her mother is, and her father abandoned her at a young age at a convent, at least as I see it. Feel free to disagree.

A/N: Yep! Twins! I'm sorry if Zuni seems too good at seeing people's fears, but I wanted to address Lena's shyness problem. Besides, in the game, Caeda is also overly adept at that, as exemplified in her conversation with General Lorenz in chapter 20.

And if you're wondering why she's not with Julian… Merric (a wizard) did it. I don't know, I come up with weird pairings like that. MarthLena, AbelTiki… at least MerricElice has canon evidence…

And you'll be happy to know I've decided for sure on where I want the story to go! I'm not going to give it away, but let's just say an old evil returns in the form of another dragon…

Ambiguity: The fiction writer's best friend! Yay!


	3. Ch3: Chartreuse and Cobalt

A/N: Well here we are. I've written out five chapters now, and I hope to get at least chapter five published by next Friday. Because I like the plot twist.

So let's not waste any time! Chapter Three!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Three: Chartreuse and Cobalt 

**Four Years Later**

Zuni loved his siblings, but it had to be said that it was a little more than just family love. The three of them were all each other really had in the world, besides their parents of course. But Zuni had hoped for two sisters, two mothers for his young. But because Zephyr was a male, some part of Zuni resented him for it.

But Zuni couldn't make any serious advances on his sister anyway, because she was only four years old. It would still be eight years, according to his mother, until Yuni could have children. And Zephyr didn't seem as interested in Yuni as Zuni did.

Over the last four years, Zuni had spent his time working on flight, both in dragon and human form. Though Zuni generally preferred doing things in his dragon form, he found he preferred flying in human form. He said that way he had a freer range of motion, and that he could more easily fly undetected. Zuni also developed a style of mid-air sword- and lance-fighting.

Again, maybe some description would help the reader imagine things better. Let us begin with Yuni. She was strikingly beautiful, even so young as four years old. Her green hair flowed like waves in a pure grass field, and her smile warmed even the most troubled heart. At least that's what Zuni thought of her. A veritable princess.

Zephyr looked like his brother, but for some reason had a scar on his right hand, shaped almost like a bite mark. He said it didn't hurt, and Abel and Tiki could not remember him ever being bitten. Besides, he had had it since birth. When he held his toy wooden sword, Abel noticed that the scar looked as if he had raised his sword hand to guard against a biting attack. For some reason, when Abel stared at it, he thought of Anri, the Altean hero, but Abel didn't know why.

At an early age, Yuni made it clear she was an independent girl. She loved playing with her brothers and parents, but she dressed herself (though she struggled for some time at first) and fed herself, even able to hunt small game, such as rabbits. Abel and Tiki praised her for her skills, and the family ate the fruits of her labor.

Zephyr, on the other hand, was starkly more attached to his parents, specifically to his mother. Tiki liked the added attention, but at the same time, it worried her deeply. A child that stayed attached to his or her mother too long grew up needy and had difficulty forming normal social bonds. He did play and socialize with his siblings, but he was with his mother every chance he got.

Now that that's out of the way…

Zuni often got the desire to visit the other countries and territories around Altea. He felt it was his obligation to know the lay of the land, and to get to know, at least on an acquaintance basis, the nobility of each state to avoid offending anyone. He asked his father if he could go on one of these visits, and Abel agreed. With a farewell to his beloved, Abel went with Zuni into the skies.

First, logically enough, was Talys, the island kingdom that had taken Lord Marth in when he and his entourage were exiled from Altea. It was here, Abel had said, that Marth met the fair Princess Caeda. Though Abel's physical description of Caeda piqued Zuni's interest, he went on to say that she used less-than-noble methods of recruiting soldiers, flaunting her beauty and so-called innocence. The great swordmaster Navarre, for example, when offered a choice between joining Caeda and killing her, could not bring himself to choose the latter, and so was forced to join.

"Well, where is she now?" asked Zuni. "I want to meet her."

"… she won't be doing much talking," said Abel.

"Why not? Is it because she's shy? Because I'm not of human nobility?"

Abel took a breath. "No, son, it's because people tend to get less chatty once life has left them. She died nearly two decades ago."

Zuni shook his head. "That's a shame. From what you've told me about her, it sounds like Lord Marth intended to marry Caeda."

"Yes, they loved each other deeply, but… Caeda actually died protecting Marth." Abel prepared to tell his tale, and this is the story:

_Knorda Market. The community and land surrounding the Millennium Court in the capital of Archanea. The Dolhr empire had captured the market and, in an effort to keep away nosy intruders, had set up a platoon of ballistae. They were Marth's big worry. Not for the safety of himself, or even the majority of his men. No, they could take the ballistae without problem._

_But the danger of Caeda being felled by one of the Arrowspate shots made him nervous beyond all else._

"_Caeda?" he said gently._

"_Yes, Marth?" She was brushing the mane of her Pegasus, Nimbus, as she had named her, before the battle._

"_I have a request." Marth took her hand shakily. Half from worry and half from contact with Caeda, whom Marth still struggled with his feelings for. "It is not an easy one to make."_

"_What is it, Marth? You can ask me anything." She placed her free hand on Marth's._

"_What if I asked you to stay out of this," he asked. "To, no matter what, stay away from the Court. To stay out of the battle. I'm… scared. Scared you'll get gravely hurt."_

_Caeda looked down. It _was_ a hard request. As much as Marth did not want to lose Caeda, Caeda did not want to be separated from Marth. But she knew he would never ask her to stay out of a battle unless he had a good reason._

"_It's okay, Marth." She hugged him. "I'll stay out of it. For you."_

"_I'll have Merric send an Elfire flare up to signal you when it's safe. Until then, I would like you to deal with the insurrection in the eastern market."_

"_As you wish," said Caeda. She mounted Nimbus and flew to the market. The ruffians who'd attempted the takeover of the market were child's play to Caeda. Five or six up, five or six down. Caeda then visited a nearby village and rescued a boy from the ruffians. The boy left the market and he was elated to see Marth and Merric advancing towards the Court. Caeda busied herself by visiting the local markets and houses. She bought spare weapons, supplies, and even met an Archanean woman calling herself Anna. Anna mentioned a Grustian ballistician by the name of Jake (and noted that he only paid any attention to pretty women, gesturing towards Caeda's chest as she said it; Caeda caught the meaning)._

_As she left the house, Caeda noticed a column of fire rising up over the mountains in the northwest._

"_Finally, it's safe," she said with relief. She flew over the mountain toward Marth, who waved at her. Caeda raised her arm to wave back, but she saw someone with a hooded shroud approach Marth from behind, with a strange, curved dagger._

"_Marth!!" she shouted, in an attempt to warn him. Marth mistook her warning as a greeting. Dismissing any further attempts at quick communication as futile, she kicked Nimbus's sides to get her to go faster. They sped down to Marth, quickly sliding between him and the hooded man._

_Marth turned just in time to see the blossom of red from Caeda's body. She took the dagger in her lower-left part of her torso in an upward stab, an inch below the heart. She cried out in pain and fell off the Pegasus._

"_Caeda!!" shouted Marth. He drew his Rapier and quickly cut the hooded man's knife hand. In his fervor, Marth's swing caused him to drop his Rapier, but he reached down and grabbed the fallen Caeda's Wing Spear, and slew the hooded man with it. He pulled it out and cast it aside, hurrying to Caeda's aid._

"_Marth," she said weakly, "I had to… your life is… far more… important… than my life… or my feelings…"_

"_Caeda, no, you're going to be fine. You have to be!" protested Marth. (Merric cursed his lack of ability with and possession of a staff.)_

"_I don't want… to leave you… any more than you… want me… to go… Marth… but it's too… late for it now…" Caeda coughed. Blood came with the air, and it spattered on her cheek. "I will always… cherish… our time… together… both here… and in Talys."_

"_As will I, Caeda…" Marth embraced Caeda. She reached up and took hold of Marth's head and turned him to face her._

"_Marth…" she said gently, her face serene despite herself. She pulled Marth's head down and kissed him as passionately as her fatal wound would allow. Marth was surprised, but he managed to compose himself enough to return the favor. After several, seemingly eternal moments, they broke away. "Marth… I…" Caeda's eyes lost the spark of life, and slowly closed. "I…"_

_She fell silent._

_Marth held Caeda's lifeless body in his arms. He tried his hardest not to cry, but his sadness overpowered his will. Lena finally arrived to console Marth, and she also magically preserved Caeda's body so it could be taken back to Talys unravaged by the effects of time._

_With the Gem of Talys destroyed, the Hope of Altea had been marred beyond repair. Still, Marth did his utmost to take his mind off Caeda. He frequently had difficulty sleeping, however, kept awake by his sorrow, knowing that if he had not been so careless, if he had not let his guard down, then his beloved might still be with him…_

"That's… that's awful," said Zuni.

"Aye, it is," agreed Abel.

"In that case, I'd like to pay my respects to the Princess. But afterwards, I would like to visit Macedon." Zuni gripped the handle of the Hauteclere replica axe Minerva had given him. He always carried it with him. Even though it was a replica, it was battle-ready, and he trained with it on the side.

"Of course, son."

"Thank you, Father."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Yeah, it's a long flashback, but oh well. Consider it more a flashback than a story. And I know things happened in the flashback that are impossible in the game, but I didn't like the fact that only Marth could visit villages anyway. Let's see, Caeda visits a village and Marth used the Wing Spear. It's a story, leave me alone. And yes, the hooded man was Khozen. I gave him a dagger because it's more plausible to imagine him sneaking up on Marth in human form as opposed to as a dragon.

The boy was of course Linde in disguise. (She was happy to see Merric because he's a mage like she is. They have their "support" conversation there.)

And of course because Caeda was killed, Marth was forced to kill Jake (he didn't know he would turn friendly since Caeda never told him). Poor Jake. Oh well. There's always Beck. Beck's better anyway.

So there you go. Chapter Three. I'm typing up Chapter Four immediately after this, so I'm going to do that now.


	4. Ch4: Talyan Grave

A/N: Well, Chapter Four time. With any luck I'll finish Chapter Five way ahead of schedule~

Nothing really to say here, so I'll get right down to it. Oh, but I had to come up with an adjective to mean "from Talys" so I chose "Talyan". In case that was hard to understand.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Four: Talyan Grave

Zuni and Abel touched down on the eastern shores of Talys. Abel immediately strode over to a nearby fortress.

"Ah, this brings back memories," he said wistfully.

"It does?" asked Zuni, who followed his father. "Why?"

Abel mentioned who he was to the guards, and they granted him access.

"Because eighteen years ago, Lord Marth, Sir Jagen, Draug, Gordin, my brother and I took refuge here when Gra took Altea. The king of Talys let us use this then-recently-built fort. Because of our Altean background, he named it Fort Anri, so as to call his protection to it."

"I see…" Zuni followed his father inside. It was a very simple design, not a whole lot of frills, with a definite eye for function over form. Wall reinforcements, sparse furnishings, basic quarters for knights residing there, and so on.

"I slept in this room with Sir Jagen and my brother, Cain, back when they were still alive. Caeda, when she visited, slept in that room, with Lord Marth. And Gordin, Draug, and Malledus slept in that room."

Zuni took a look in each room. Each had a basic bed that could comfortably rest two people, but according to Abel, the knights and tactician all slept in threes. Not exactly great living arrangements, but of course it could have been a lot worse. Cramped bedding was much better than sleeping six feet under.

In any case, it wasn't uncommon for men to share beds in this day and age, especially with the lack of available space. And Marth and Caeda had been close enough friends to warrant sharing beds. It wasn't like people doubted what they were doing in there anyway. They _were_ prince and princess after all. Abel had often been kept awake by the noises Caeda had made in the adjacent room when she and Marth lost control to their tumultuous and confusing emotions for one another.

"Interesting set-up," said Zuni. "Very functional. I like that. But may we visit Princess Caeda's grave now, please?" His impatience was evident.

"What's your rush?" asked Abel.

Zuni wasn't ready to tell his father exactly why he eagerly wanted to go to Macedon. "I just really want to see the grave, that's all."

Abel nodded. "Of course. Let's go." Abel could tell there was something Zuni was hiding from him. But he figured it would show itself in time.

When Abel and Zuni arrived at the Talys Cemetery, they found a person already there, dressed in black, but distinctly regal, clothes. He stood beside a larger-than-average grave, which was adorned with many sorts of gifts, from incense to candles to flowers, and even a few weapons that had been laid down in offering.

Abel happened to recognize one of the weapons, an axe, which he knew had been named Skullreaver by its former owner, the warrior Barst. Barst had quite literally given his axe to Caeda (for of course it was her grave).

The black-clad man knelt by the grave and lay a blue flower on it. Zuni noticed many similar flowers on the grave of various ages. They each looked about a week older than the next. He figured this man must have visited this grave once a week for the last few years.

Abel approached him.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," he spoke. Zuni realized the man must be the king of Talys.

"Hm?" said the king as he looked up. "Oh, Sir Abel. Good to see you again after all these years. I could use some company."

"As could I."

"Who's the boy?"

Abel laid his hand on Zuni's head. "He is my son, Zuni."

The king knelt down to Zuni's level, a common occurrence Zuni secretly enjoyed. It made him feel superior, seeing someone kneel before him. Sometimes it was as high an honor as a twelve-year-old could get.

"It is an honor to meet you, young Altean," said the king. "Abel, am I correct in assuming he is a Manakete, like his mother?"

"That is correct, Your Majesty. He's not the only one, though. About four years ago, we had two more. Twins, a boy and a girl. They're back home with their mother."

"I see." The king rose to his feet. "I wish I could share my happiness with you about that, but as you can see, you caught me at a bad time."

Zuni entered the conversation. "Mourning the loss of your daughter, Caeda. Am I right?"

The king chuckled. "He's quite perceptive, like his mother, but blunt like his father."

Zuni smiled, taking that as a compliment.

Abel, on the other hand, was mortified. "He is, is he not? I'm sorry, but—"

"Sorry?" said the king. "For what? His honesty and logic are refreshing in times such as these. Many nations are rebuilding after the war, and monarchies constantly lie to their people. People lie to one another. From things so grave as the status of the economy to trivial as how another person looks. Why, in these obscure times, I must say Zuni here would make a fine leader!"

"Thank you, sir," said Zuni. Changing the subject, he said, "Was she a good daughter?" He already knew the answer, but he felt it an obligatory question.

"Aye, she was. She was beautiful, and she had a hidden talent." The king paused. "Actually, now that I think about it, I wouldn't say hidden so much as that people never seemed to notice it until it was too late."

"And what talent was that?" asked Zuni. Abel smiled, for he already knew what it was, having witnessed it firsthand.

"A mixture of beguiling charm and persuasive logic. In all modesty, it runs in the family. The royal family of Talys is known for its ability to bend and manipulate people to their will. Abel knows this, as I am sure."

"That I do, sir," Abel replied.

"A good friend of mine from Grust, Lorenz, and I often debated topics such as tax codes and economics, especially the trade agreement between Talys and Grust. Talys, being an island nation, exports things such as shellfish, seafood, and certain exotic and—in Grust—rare plants. In exchange, Grust, having more access to raw materials for building than we do, exports said materials to us. Whenever we came to an argument in the policy, he always conceded his point to mine."

"Sir," interrupted Abel, "I do remember Caeda mentioning one argument you conceded to Lorenz."

"… right, about what to do with condemned criminals. He had a lucky flash of inspiration."

Abel felt it relevant to tell his son a quick tale. "Zuni, did you know that Marth convinced General Lorenz to fight against Grust, with the Archanean League?"

"No, I didn't," said Zuni.

"He explained that, by defying the king of Grust, he was helping secure Grust's future. How did that saying of yours go?"

The king cleared his throat and recited the saying he had taught both Marth and his daughter. "It went 'A kingless country is a country still, but a king without subjects rules naught but hills.'"

"I'll try to remember that," said Zuni. "By yours and my father's leave, I believe now is a good time to go to Macedon."

"Anxious, are we?" joked the king. "Very well. Thank you for visiting, Zuni. Live well, grow strong, and be sure, young dragon."

"Thank you, sir," said Zuni, bowing to the king.

"You're quite welcome."

Zuni and Abel left Talys, all the better for the visit. As they travel to Macedon, now might be a good time to check in on the family back home in Altea…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Sorry this chapter seems short and forced. Not my best one, I have to admit, but it's part of the story. Again, there's a good reason Zuni's eager to reach Macedon, just be patient.

Next chapter will show what's happening meanthewhiles in Altea, as well as in one other place…

Stay tuned!

Edit: Wow, I epic failed. A reader pointed out to me that I wrote that Caeda recruited Lorenz when she died nine chapters before. I think I wasn't thinking when I thought of that. So I rewrote it to be Marth, because he too can recruit Lorenz. Thank you, Mark of the Asphodel! You get a megacookie for that!


	5. Ch5: Obligatory Meanwhiles

A/N: Okay, apparently, some update my dad did on the laptop made it so Word doesn't work anymore, which prompted me to get OpenOffice, and I'm liking it, so yay.

So now that the epic failure of continuity I made in the last chapter is fixed, let's get to number five! I really wanted this one in by the 22nd, Friday, so yeah.

And away we go!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Five: Obligatory Meanwhiles

Tiki woke up. First thought in her mind: _Abel isn't here._ Not exactly the most cheerful thought for so early in the day. But then Tiki glanced across the room and saw her twin children, Yuni and Zephyr. Two of the three fruits of her love. She rose from her bed and crossed to the childrens' bed and sat by it, watching them sleep. After several minutes, she wondered what time it was and glanced outside.

_From the position of the sun_, she thought, _it looks to be about eleven in the morning._ "Rise and shine, you two." She gently shook them awake.

Yuni woke up first. "Mmm. Good morning, mommy," she said. "Zephy still sleep?"

Zephyr was a heavier sleeper than his sister, and much harder to rouse. He slept still.

"Yes, he is. Did you two stay up all night?" asked Tiki. Yuni was caught off guard.

"What? No, we went right to sleep! Right after you did! Honest!"

"Uh-huh. Now are you going to tell me the truth?"

"... okay, we stayed up a few hours playing doctor."

Tiki giggled. "A little innocent fun, no harm in that. Okay, you're forgiven."

"Thanks, mommy!" Yuni hugged Tiki. "Hey, mommy, do you and daddy ever play doctor?"

Now Tiki was the one caught off-guard, and she blushed. "Well, it's like doctor. It's only for grown-ups, though."

"Aww, you can't show me? I want to play!" pouted Yuni.

Tiki looked away to hide her ever-reddening face. "We'll discuss it with daddy when he gets home."

"Okay! Zephy, wake up!" Yuni shook her twin brother. Tiki took relief in the fact that the subject had been changed.

Zephyr's eyes slowly opened. "Hm?"

"Mornin', Zephy!"

"Mornin', sis." Zephyr sat up. "Where daddy and brother?"

"They are visiting other countries in the continent," said Tiki.

"So we have you to ourselves?" asked Yuni.

"Yes, I suppose so." Tiki opened the bedroom door. "Let's go out and do something, mother and children."

Yuni and Zephyr followed Tiki outside. Zephyr immediately circled around the shop to a garden behind.

"He's fast today," said Yuni.

"He is," agreed Tiki. "What's on your mind, Yuni?"

Yuni stopped to think. "Well, when I get older, I have to have children with my brothers, right?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so. But don't worry too much about it, or you'll grow to fear it irrationally. It will be fine."

"But it won't," said Yuni. "What if they fight over me?"

"That's not going to happen. Zuni's too mature to let that happen."

Yuni wasn't convinced. "I don't know, mommy..."

Zephyr came back around the shop with some green flowers.

"Mommy!" he shouted. "I picked these for you!" He handed Tiki the flowers.

"Aww, thank you, Zephyr!" She took them. They had special meaning to her, from her childhood. They had been magically crossbred from a white rose she was once given. The flower Tiki now held had green petals with a white stem. Abel had said of the original (white petals, green stem) that they reminded him of Tiki: a pure, beautiful exterior with a fierce determined core. The current form, Abel said, reminded him even more of her. Her determined core was now the white stem, which coincidentally had the same color as her dragon form.

Zephyr was obviously excited that his mother liked the flowers. He smiled, and his body language had a distinct open-to-the-world feel. He sat next to Tiki on a small bench.

Yuni watched the two of them and noticed Zephyr's curious affection for his mother. She couldn't help wondering what he felt about her...

~*~*~

No, go away! Go away! I won't do it!

_He ran through the darkness. His heart pounded. All he could think about was escape._

_He kept running, but stopped. His pursuer appeared in front of him._

_No escape. He turned around, but the pursuer seemed to stay in his field of vision. Everywhere. It was everywhere._

Give up. You will follow my desire.

No, I can't! I won't!

_He tripped and fell on his face. Suddenly it was on him. The crushing, oppressive weight of pure evil. He couldn't move, but he felt his power activated, forced. Then..._

Xane woke up screaming. His body was covered in cold sweat. He also noticed his body was that of a human female. The nightmare. This always happened when he had the nightmare. And he had been having the nightmare more and more often lately.

"Xane? Are you okay?" came a voice from outside his room. Xane knew it was Miss Telea, the woman who had given Xane a place to stay and eat in exchange for his assistance with her occupation.

The problem was, Miss Telea didn't know Xane was a shapeshifter, and Xane suspected she would not take the news well.

Xane did his best to make his female body's voice sound more masculine. "I am, Miss Telea. Don't-don't come up!" Alas, his feminine voice could not be adequately disguised.

"You sound sick. I'm coming." Footsteps sounded.

Xane panicked. _Change back. Change back!!_ The world around Xane flashed, and his body resumed its original male form. A split second later, Miss Telea came in. She was a fair young woman with a charm Xane had fallen in love with. He hadn't told Telea this, yet, though. He was afraid she would be unable to accept who he really was. So for now, he was forced to watch her from the shadows, figuratively speaking of course.

"See? Fresh as a newborn!" Xane nervously said. "Never better."

"If you say so. I just wanted to check on my cute little ward."

_Oh sure, you say that now,_ thought Xane. _But if you only knew..._ "Well I could use some breakfast. Like some of those cinnamon rolls of yours!"

"Of course, just a minute, Xane!" Miss Telea said, then left.

Xane made the bed, then lay back down on it. He wiped away some of the sweat on his brow. "Why does this keep happening to me? The nightmare... How long has it been, eighteen years? Urgh, it's been too long. I've wallowed in my own cowardice for long enough. I have to tell someone. If I don't, then we're all doomed." Xane paused. "... it can wait until after breakfast. I mean I wouldn't want Miss Telea to make it for nothing."

So Xane vowed to embark on a journey to Altea, to warn Marth of the impending danger.

After toast and a side of bacon, of course.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Yes, Xaney's in the story! And Miss Telea is a random OC I made up to serve the purposes of the story.

I know you want to know who the chaser was in Xane's dream, and what happened eighteen years ago involving him (for those of you wondering, eighteen years before the current time in the story is the Prologue of FESD. Twelve years ago, Zuni was born. Add four, is when Tiki was eight, which is when the Archanean Great War took place. And two years before that was the Prologue). But those questions will have to wait to be answered.

Next chapter is a long one. And because school is ending for me and I won't have ready internet access for some time, it might be a while before it's up. If it has to, it will wait until my senior year in August. I apologize if this wait has to take place, but whatever happens happens.

Don't worry on my account.

Review, if you please~


	6. Ch6: The Pride of Macedon

A/N: Well, here it is. The long one. Bear with it. This one changes scenes several times.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Six: The Pride of Macedon

As Zuni and Abel approached the Macedonian border, they spied four objects in the distance, in the air with them.

"What are those?" asked Zuni.

Abel happened to recognize them. "Here's a hint. Three of them have very white wings and the fourth's a very perceptive, rational woman."

"Minerva!!" Zuni raced over to the Whitewings. "Minerva! Minerva, long time no see!"

Minerva turned to the voice. "Who...? Is that Zuni...?"

"Who's Zuni?" asked Palla, the oldest of the Whitewing sisters.

"Don't you remember, Palla?" said Est, the youngest. "It's Abel's son!"

"Abel had a son?" said Catria, the middle sister. "I thought you had your eyes on Abel, Est."

"I did, but," began Est in a comically melodramatic tone, "the cruel winds of fate tore him away from me, dashing my heart against the jagged rocks of missed opportunity." She resumed her normal voice. "But I'm fine with it."

"Hmp. Our sister, the drama queen," said Palla.

"I am not!" exclaimed Est.

The sisters fought about this a while. Meanwhile, Minerva flew her dragon over to Zuni and Abel (who had followed his son).

"Well, well, well," she said, "what brings you two here?"

"I don't know," said Abel, "it was my son's idea."

"Oh, is that so?" She turned to Zuni. "And why is that?"

Zuni began to sweat. He wasn't yet at liberty for his father to know why. "Father, why don't you go talk to the sisters!"

"Why would I do that?" asked Abel. "What are you trying to hide?"

Minerva waved a salute over her head with three fingers, then brought them down to point to Abel.

"Abel!" shouted Est. "It's so great to see you again!" She grabbed Abel's arm and pulled him onto her pegasus. She hugged him and directed her pegasus to fly away from Zuni and Minerva.

Zuni wiped his brow. "That was lucky."

Minerva grinned, almost smugly. "Luck had nothing to do with it."

It clicked for Zuni. "You did that! With that wave!"

"Yes. Each of the Whitewings has a salute made for her. Palla is one finger, Catria is two, and Est is three. They do more than fight for me, Zuni."

"But why'd you make her distract Abel?"

"How long have you known me, Zuni?"

"All my life, why?"

"And what have you learned about me in that time?"

"That you're uncannily perceptive."

"I do try to focus on things and make sure I understand what's going on, yes. And I could see you had something you didn't want your father to know. We can speak freely."

"... may we speak in the aerie?"

Minerva readjusted herself in her saddle. "Of course. Est is going to drag Abel off on some sort of date, I'm sure, so we have at least the rest of the day to ourselves, and Palla and Catria. But you need not fear that they will judge you on anything you say."

"Thank you so much, Minerva."

The four of them descended to the Macedonian aerie, and something caught Palla's eye.

"Minerva, when did you give him your axe?" she asked.

"I didn't. That's a replica," said Minerva. "The blacksmith, Hephram, made it for me to match the real Hauteclere with a half-scale size. I gave it to Zuni when he was five."

"How come I don't get one?" whined Catria. "I can use axes!"

"I'm sorry, Catria. It seemed like a special occasion. It takes a while to make one, and it's really expensive, even if you only use half the material." Minerva stopped to think. "Tell you what, Cat, if you can come up with... oh, say 10,000 gold, we'll talk."

"Aww!" Catria pouted.

~*~*~*~

In the aerie, Minerva, Palla, and Catria left their mounts (which were sentient enough not to require restraints) and proceeded with Zuni to the lower levels.

Palla and Catria were on either side of Zuni, talking casually with him. Minerva was in front, leading them through the halls.

"So, Zuni," said Catria, "what's it like in Altea?"

"Peaceful," he responded. "Boring, at times, even. Sometimes I wish I'd been born before the war. I haven't gotten a chance to do any good physical exercise. Fight, you know?"

"Oh, is that all?" said Palla. "We can spar later, if you like."

Zuni got a spark of deviousness. That gambler's itch reminiscent of a long lost prince from far away. "Okay, but let's make a little wager, shall we? It'll be two against one. If you two last as long as me, then you can make any one request of me, and I will do it no matter what. And if I last as long as you two, I can make a request of each of you."

Catria nodded. "Well, since you're a dragon, that sounds fai--"

"I wasn't done," interrupted Zuni. "If the requestee so chooses, he or she may grant an additional request to the requestor."

Minerva chuckled once.

"What is it, Commander?" asked Palla.

"Nothing," she replied. "I just see what Zuni's trying to do."

"Oh, do you now?" said Zuni, almost challenging her.

"What is it?" asked Catria. "What is he doing?"

"You'll find out in due time," said Minerva, with finality, ending discussion.

"Aww, come on!" said Palla and Catria simultaneously. Minerva allowed herself a smirk. She'd gained a reputation for being the silent detective of her group, the one who seems to never pay attention to anything and later bamboozles everyone with her astounding insight to the situation. Palla, Catria and Est had always known this, and everyone in the former Archanean League had learned the hard way, one way or another.

"Well, now that we've settled that," said Zuni, who then paused. He took a deep breath. Suddenly his calm and collected, confident demeanor had escaped him. "Mi-Minerva." He mentally cursed himself. He'd stuttered. "I have... something to say."

"Yes?" She turned to him. Her face was almost unnaturally calm and gentle. (This half-disturbed the two present Whitewings, as they rarely saw their commander this way.)

"You're... a very confident woman," he began. "And, in all respect, the most dragon-like full-blooded human I've ever met."

Palla and Catria silently agreed.

"And... I don't say this lightly, but--"

"Shh," said Minerva, touching a finger to Zuni's mouth. He silenced instantly, almost grateful not to have to talk anymore. "I know. I appreciate your affection for me, but... I can't accept it." At the sight of Zuni's disappointment, she continued, "Not yet at any rate. I only recently allowed myself to become queen of Macedon. I'm not ready to take a man... er, male, yet."

"I see."

Palla rubbed Zuni's back sympathetically.

"Zuni." Minerva smiled. "Note my use of the word 'yet'. I'll tell you what. Because I honestly do appreciate your feelings for me, you may bed with me tonight." When Palla's and Catria's expressions turned to those of shock, she added, "Not like that."

The sisters let out sighs of relief.

"What I mean is straight up sleep. You two are sexually repressed something fierce. Go find some men."

Palla and Catria blushed. "Um, s-sure, Commander," said the elder sister.

Minerva laughed. "Or, at least remember my rule. 'Don't ask, don't tell.'"

~*~*~*~

That night, Zuni and Minerva retreated to the latter's chambers. It was what one would expect from a queen's bedroom. Canopied veiled bed, lavishly ornate mirror, and so on. But Minerva had most of that, as she had called it, "superficial wastes of space" thrown out. All that _was_ left were the bed, mirror, and a dresser or two.

"Even with the reductions, this room is still nicer than even Lord Marth's was at Fort Anri," said Zuni.

"I wouldn't know," said Minerva. "I've not been to Talys."

Zuni froze. "How did you know Fort Anri was in Talys, then?"

Minerva sighed. "Because it's not leaderlike to not know the histories of neighboring lands," she said as she changed into a nightgown. Zuni respectfully averted his eyes as she did.

"Minerva?"

"Yes?"

Zuni chanced a peek to see if she was done. She was.

"You don't strike me as the type to accept the monarchy. Why did you take the position of Macedonian queen? Father told me you'd refused for a long time."

Minerva sat on the bed and beckoned for the young dragon to join her. Zuni sat between her legs, facing away from her, and Minerva held him close in her arms.

"Because I had no choice."

She prepared to tell Zuni a story she was not proud of. At least she knew him well. She had told it numerous times to people she had just met, and that was a nightmarish ordeal for her. But Zuni was different.

"You see, many years ago, there was a trade disagreement. Remember, this was during the anarchaic time after my brother, Michalis, the former king's death. It was a dispute between traders, one of whom felt cheated, blackmailed by the other, for an essential product. I don't remember off the top of my head what it was. Some food item.

"Various occupational guilds took sides in the dispute. The food producers for example took the side of the alleged blackmailing trader, and the guilds in charge of quality of life took the other. The unrest escalated, and even the royal guards could not restore order. Est tried to step in, but she got a bruise and an arrow in the leg for her trouble. She always did rush in way over her head...

"One citizen brought to light that without a monarch to listen to and mediate the dispute, the argument might rage on and even futher rend Macedon asunder. Of course, the people narrow-mindedly sought only one person to take that position."

"You," said Zuni.

"Yes, me.

"Much as I despised the idea of being queen, I despised the idea of allowing Macedon to destroy itself further even more. So I accepted, on a few conditions, which the people wholeheartedly agreed to." She readjusted her sitting position. "Now, we should probably be getting to sleep." Minerva extinguished the oil lamp by the bed. She lay down, and Zuni lay beside her.

He couldn't help smiling as he fell asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Well, that was a mighty long one, eh?

I'm going to do something a little different. I'll preview the name of the following chapter at the end of each one here! (Like in FE, when you save, you see the title of the next chapter, then can turn the game off.)

Besides, the next chapter title is a good teaser, so there.

Next: Chapter Seven: Bearer of Bad News

Review, please!


	7. Ch7: Bearer of Bad News

A/N: Here we go, chapter seven! We're back to our old friend Xaney for this one.

Chapter Seven: Bearer of Bad News

Xane had been wandering the continent for so long he'd forgotten exactly where in Archanea he was. He knew his destination, but not from whence he would come, and hence, which way to go.

So, at breakfast, he asked his hostess precisely that.

"Excuse me, Miss Telea?" he asked between mouthfuls of food. "Where exactly are we in the continent right now?"

Miss Telea was caught off guard. "What do you mean, Xane?"

"I lost track of where I am, because of all the traveling I've been doing. And I need to get somewhere in a hurry. I don't want to leave, believe me, but I'm afraid this is more important than my desire."

His gentle hostess smiled. "I see. Tell me, where is it you must go?" she asked.

Xane took a bite of his favorite food of Miss Telea's cooking: cinnamon rolls. She made them herself, and she had her own secret recipe. It included many ingredients whose identities she practically guarded with her life. One of each went into each of the rolls themselves, the cinnamon, and the icing. The rolls had a slight sweet-tangy taste to them. The cinnamon had a sweet spice, giving it an addictively painful taste, that certain "it hurts but it's a good hurt" feeling. And the icing. It had a mixture of flavors Xane couldn't even identify. It was part of Miss Telea's job to make these, among other baked goods, and in order to pay for his room and board, he helped her make them.

Despite his working on the rolls, he still did not know the ingredients, but Miss Telea had promised that if he did a good job, then she would share them with him someday.

"Mmm! Great rolls as always!" said Xane. "As I was saying, I intend to travel to Altea. I need to speak to the pr--" Xane realized that Miss Telea would never believe that he knew Marth personally. (And he also didn't realize that he had since become king.) "Prison guard, where I was locked up."

"Oh my, you were a prisoner of war?" asked Miss Telea.

"Yes, it's a sad, tragic, heroic tale." At this, Miss Telea giggled. She loved his comic narration. "But the guard and I are good friends. He freed me, and he's quite the charismatic fellow. His name's Mar... cus. Marcus."

"Oh!" Miss Telea fetched a map of the continent. "Well, we're in Aurelis right now. So to get to Altea, you would want to go this way." She traced a path from Aurelis to Castle Altea.

"Thank you. I'll be back as soon as I can!" Xane got up to leave.

"I hope your talk with Marcus goes well!"

"So do I..." Xane opened the door. "Good bye."

"Goodbye!" Xane left, closing the door behind him. Miss Telea did a quick tidying up of the room, as was her habit. She glanced out the window. Xane was standing outside, looking up at the sky.

Suddenly, Xane flashed, and when the light faded, where Xane once stood, was a large hawk. The hawk shrieked and flew off.

Towards Altea.

Miss Telea shut the curtain forcefully, startled as she was. She slid down to the floor, trembling and short of breath.

"X-Xane... what... are you?" she shakily said.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Xane strode out into the morning air. The fastest way to Altea would be by flying, of course. Xane glanced back to see if Miss Telea was watching. She wasn't. Good. Xane then looked skyward, hoping there would be a bird overhead. As luck would have it, a hawk was flying through the azure sky. So Xane shapeshifted into the form of the hawk and took off towards Altea.

_How am I going to tell the prince?_ thought Xane. _How can I tell him that a new evil is coming to avenge his father's death? How old would he be now... eighteen? I'm not even sure..._ Xane took a moment to mentally chastise himself. _Ugh, how could I have been so foolish as to let this happen? It's all my fault... because I'm so weak... If only _he _could see me now. He would laugh._ He shook himself out of it. _No sense worrying about it now. It's in the past, and I cannot change what has happened, no matter how hard I try. I can only look out for the fu--_

A large talon gripped Xane bodily. He cried out in pain and surprise, and some strange force caused him to return to his original form.

"Long time no see," said a malevolent voice. "How have you been?"

Xane knew the voice, and he was none to pleased to hear it. "Let me go! Let go of me right now!!"

"And why would I do that?"

Xane looked around frantically. "Because I told you to!"

The voice became condescending. "Come now. Just because you're my elder doesn't mean I have to listen to you... dear mother!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: No, that is not a typo. Xane's a mother. Short chapter I know, but this is a good time to leave off.

Sorry for the delay between this chapter and the previous. Driver's ed has been consuming much of my time, so yeah.

Anyways, the next chapter's title is: Chapter 7x: Rekindling the Flame. It's a gaiden because it's really really short. I know it'll throw off the chapter count and number, but oh well. Technology will do that.


	8. Ch7x: Rekindling the Flame

A/N: Here we are, a gaiden chapter. This one features Abel and Est. All you who support that canon pairing, this is a bit of a fanservice. Not much, but it serves as such. Remember, Minerva ordered Est to get rid of Abel for Zuni's sake, and this is where she dragged him to. This one's notoriously short, and so easier to type.

Chapter 7x: Rekindling the Flame

"Where exactly are we going?" asked Abel.

"Oh, it's a romantic place only airborne people can reach!" replied Est.

"Wait, why are you--"

Est turned to Abel. Her expression seemed oddly familiar. Something about it clawed at Abel's memory, trying desperately to be recollected. But Abel couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Shh," said Est, raising a finger to her lips. "Don't spoil it. Just enjoy the moment. Please, just bear with me, Abel."

They landed atop a naturally-formed horizontal ledge extending outward, overlooking the entire Macedonian countryside. It was indeed too high up and too dangerous for anyone without wings (or a mount with wings anyway) to reach. Abel could also make out Altea, Talys, and the Millennium Court.

"It's beautiful... But why did you take me here, Est?" said Abel.

Est took a deep breath.

"Because I loved you, Abel." She idly tossed a rock off the ledge. "I fell in love with you when we first met, but you... never seemed to notice me." Abel noticed Est was fighting off a tear. "You were always with Tiki... so I gave up on you back then."

Abel felt guilty. He had honestly never noticed Est's advances. He was too focused on Tiki.

Then it hit him. _Tiki._ That was where he had seen Est's facial expression before: When Tiki first met him. All he had done was properly introduce himself and she had began to look at him with that expression more and more.

And now Est was displaying that heart-rendering look. It filled Abel with a strange mixture of guilt, fond memory, love, and desire to make amends.

"Est, I--"

"And before I lose my chance for good, I wanted to... rekindle my flame of love one last time... with you. Would you, please, Abel?"

Abel could tell she was having difficulty asking. It was by sheer willpower she had not stuttered or choked up. _I guess it couldn't hurt,_ he thought. _I can help mend her broken heart... if I don't, she may never be able to love anyone _else_, let alone me... but if I do, then she has that momentum to go on... It's the right thing to do, if sixteen years overdue._

"Yes, Est. I will."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Told you it was short. An interchapter, fanservice, and implied love scene all in one. You all can decide for yourself if they went fourth base. It's up to you because it's not important to the story.

Next up, Chapter Eight: Home Is Where The Heart Is.


	9. Ch8: Home Is Where The Heart Is

A/N: AUGH YES I KNOW IT'S BEEN MONTHS. I was busy with schoolwork and driver's ed and summer job and augh.

The point is, here we are. And yes, I know the chapter counts are off. Deal.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Eight: Home Is Where The Heart Is

Zuni woke up. His eyes were still shut, but he felt himself surrounded by a pillowy-soft embrace. Something especially soft and cushiony was under his head. Then he remembered where he was.

_I'm in Minerva's room. She and I slept... those are her arms on top of me... her stomach under me, and... those are her..._ Zuni opened his eyes, suddenly, his face flushed red. He sat up and looked where his head had been, and his suspicions were confirmed. His head had lain upon Minerva's chest.

He freed himself from Minerva's arms and got off of her. His movements woke her up.

"Who put out the sun?" she said groggily. Zuni noticed it was still dark outside, though it was an early morning dark.

"It's just night, Minerva," said Zuni, trying to avoid the subject of where precisely he slept. "I must have accidentally woke--"

_Finally woke up?_ said a voice. But it was inside Zuni's head. He recognized it.

_Nagi?_ he responded.

_Bingo._

_How'd... I thought you were inside Abel's head. How did you...?_

_Long story. I talked to Tiki, Zephyr, and Yuni too._ Nagi's body appeared in Zuni's visual imagination. Mercifully, she had clothed her image in a leather full-body skirt. _Apparently I'm free enough to communicate with anyone in our family._

_Why aren't you with my father, though?_

Nagi took a deep breath. _He and Est are having too much fun for him to even notice me. The two of them have been up all night. So I ventured out. I never sleep anyways. Not in over three millenia. Or maybe just the last sixteen years. How was your night?_

_Very peaceful. I slept with Minerva._

Nagi snickered. _You _do_ understand what "sleeping with someone" means, right?_ When Zuni did not respond, she continued, _It means you, as a male, have--_

"Zuni?" asked Minerva. "You've been staring at the ceiling for a while. About fifteen seconds of nothing but staring."

"I have?" he said. It seemed like longer to him. Surely he'd been talking to Nagi for at least a minute.

"Yes, it was... somewhat distressing... to see."

Zuni just laughed. "Sorry, I was thinking about something interesting."

_Technically that's not a lie,_ said Nagi.

"I see," said Minerva. "We should prepare to leave. Your family probably misses you."

"I imagine so." Zuni put his lightweight armor on. _You heard that, right, Nagi?_

_You did,_ she said, _so so did I._

_Good._ "Let's go, Minerva."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The two-- well, three of them went to the most common hangout for Minerva's dragon. She tossed him a spare hunk of meat, and Shiirken snapped it up happily, growling in a low, vibrating, pleased tone, almost like a purr.

"Minerva," said Zuni, "you said your brother, Michalis, had a dragon too, right?" At Minerva's nod, he continued, "What happened to it?"

"When a mounted soldier is killed, wartime tradition is to slay the creature they were mounted on. It's supposed to be an honor thing. They die with their partner, it's symbolic, and so forth. When I killed Michalis, I couldn't bring myself to kill his dragon, Zarnok. I knew Zarnok. He knew me. Even though tradition demanded that I slay him... I just... couldn't. Call it weakness.

"So we kept Zarnok alive. But when we buried my brother, Zarnok never left his graveside. Ever. He didn't move, hunt, eat, or sleep. All he did was lie there, staring. Almost through the earth to his fallen partner. I could almost hear him calling out to my brother.

"I tried to console Zarnok, but he ignored everything except Michalis's grave... and as I said, he never ate... eventually he just... passed.

"We buried him next to Michalis. They shared everything in life... so we let them share everything in death." Minerva wiped away a tear that had slid down her cheek. It wasn't often she cried, which lent some sense of gravity to the situation.

She composed herself just in time before Palla and Catria entered on their respective mounts, a pegasus and a wyvern.

"There you are," said Palla. "Where to, Commander?"

"Altea," Minerva said. "Are we ready to depart?"

"Of course!" The sisters saluted Minerva, and all of them mounted their rides. Zuni, of course, chose to rely on his own wings.

As they left the aerie, Zuni brandished his youth-size Hauteclere. He pointed the shaft toward Palla and Catria.

"So! How about we have that sparring match on the way to Altea?" he asked. "I may not have a dragonstone, but I can still fight with this."

Palla and Catria looked at one another. They nodded. "Okay, Zuni," said Catria, drawing her lance. But remember, it's two of us against one of you!"

_That's what she thinks,_ said Nagi. _Remember, we're two fighters as well._

_Not to offend, but how exactly can you help?_ questioned Zuni. _Your senses are limited to what I perceive._

_That is true, but if you are engaged with one of them, your senses might become too extraneous for you to realize the other is approaching from behind. I am not so limited by the stress of combat, and thus can alert you of the others' attack and tell you exactly how to evade._

… _that's amazing,_ said Zuni, bewildered. _Thank you, Nagi. We shall fight as one._

_Literally. Heads up, Palla, sword, ten o'clock. Duck down and to your left._

Zuni turned toward Palla and moved his body in the direction Nagi indicated, and had raised his axe to deflect an attack he hadn't even seen yet.

Palla's downward stroke was redirected, and in her surprise, she nearly dropped her blade. Catria was equally shocked, but recovered sooner.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"Don't underestimate us," said Zuni. Then, in a completely different, feminine voice, he said, "We're more capable than you know."

And so Palla and Catria had to take the battle up a notch. Which they gladly obliged.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As the training battle waged on, no combatant actually landed a hit. When one of the Whitewings attacked Zuni, Nagi helped him escape unscathed. And whenever Zuni's stroke came close to Palla or Catria, the other would deflect his attack. It was a flurry of agility and teamwork. Truly a sight to behold. Even Minerva was impressed. And she didn't impress easily.

Eventually, by silent, mutual agreement, they stopped. It was clearly a draw.

Zuni was panting, but trying his hardest not to show it. "Remember our wager."

Palla was confused. "But no one won."

That was when Detective Minerva cut in. "If I remember correctly, and I do, the wording was that if one person lasted as long as the opponent, then you may make a request of the opponent. What I observed was that each combatant lasted as long as each other. So you all win the bet. That was Zuni's intention from the beginning."

Zuni grinned. As always, Minerva was one hundred percent correct.

"Now, we can ask anything of one another," he said. "If any one of us needs anything, we can always count on each other for help, no matter what it is."

Palla and Catria, to put it lightly, in all fairness, were stunned. They hadn't expected Zuni to have that noble intenion behind the wager.

"That's..." Palla couldn't even articulate properly how surprised she was.

Catria had a bit better luck. "That's so kind of you, Zuni." She smiled. "Thank you."

"Yeah... what she said."

"Don't mention it," said Zuni. "It's all for the greater good, right?"

Even though it wasn't official, and the sisters weren't even sure if their code would allow him in, Zuni was now, in effect, an honorary member of the Whitewings, skilled as he was in the dual arts of combat and diplomacy.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: So yeah Chapter Eight in the books. Not much else to say. Catch the next chapter! Chapter Nine: Rumors of My Death...


End file.
